Review: The Luxembourg Signal – The Luxembourg Signal

With former members of Aberdeen and Trembling Blue Stars making up their band and a Mighty Lemon Drop on production duties, you could be forgiven for believing that The Luxembourg Signal are trying to capture a feeling which started twenty years ago. In truth that’s not a bad prediction for there are large chunks of this debut album which could have been made two decades ago.

Nevertheless the album starts with a surprise as the heavy ‘Dying Star’ aligns a psychedelic droning groove to jangly guitars. A distinctly breezier ‘Distant Drive’ and ‘She Loves To Feel The Sun’ are perhaps more expected fare from the kind of sensitive artists who used to be on Sarah Records. The girly cooing of Beth Arzy and Betsy Moyer are an integral part to the innocent charm of the music but the presence of male vocals on ‘First Light’ and the bruising menace of ‘Drowning’ are a welcome counterpoint halfway through the album. It is undoubtedly the darker tracks which linger longest in the memory, not least the propulsive New Order-like pull of ‘We Go On’ and ‘Wishing Pool’ whilst there is a insouciant indie vibe running through the veins of choice cuts ‘Heaven’ and ‘Let It Go’.

Much like recent comebacks by The Wake and (another act to feature Trembling Blue Stars members) The Occasional Keepers, these bands have picked up where their old ones left off. This means The Luxembourg Signal’s songs are still as wistfully melodic as their erstwhile bands.